In a history of the skid rows in American cities from the late 19th century until the urban renewal era of the 1960s, Ella Howard tells of the impoverished people who inhabited them and the policy choices that supported their existence.

A recent conference hosted by the American Institute of Architects in Los Angeles shined a light on efforts to reduce homelessness in Los Angeles—and demonstrated just how much work must be done nationwide to solve this humanitarian crisis.

"He disputes most of the claims made by those promoting modern prefab...:

1. Prefab is more Affordable
2. Prefab produces less Waste
3. Prefab takes less Time
4. Prefab is more "Green"

He rips into each of these and makes some very good points. However Chad has a real advantage in his timing; prefab costs are fixed, with high capital costs and relatively constant labour costs. Four years ago a carpenter, if you could find one, earned $70K a year; they don't now. A conventional builder needs little more than a pickup truck and a nail gun to get into business, so in hard times the prefab companies cannot compete. In the last housing recession just about every prefab company in the States and Canada went bankrupt because of this, and it is likely to happen again."

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